Crocidosema plebejana
Encyclopedia
Crocidosema plebejana is a tortrix moth (family
Tortricidae), belonging to tribe
Eucosmini
of subfamily Olethreutinae
. It is found today all over the subtropical and tropical regions of the world and even occurs on many oceanic islands – in Polynesia
and on Saint Helena
for example –, but has probably been accidentially introduced to much of its current range by humans. In addition, it is also found in some cooler regions, e.g. in Europe
except in the east and north; this is probably also not natural, as it was for example not recorded in the British Isles
before 1900.
It is the type species
of its genus
Crocidosema, established by Philipp Christoph Zeller
when he described the present species in 1847, as he found it unlike any moth then known to science.
of adults is 12-16 mm. In the seasonal parts of its range, this moth flies from midsummer to early autumn, e.g. from July to October in southern England
. It is not quite clear whether there are several broods per year in the tropics, as it has been recorded on the Marquesas Islands
only between January and April for example. The adults are active in the evening and attracted to lights.
The caterpillar
larvae
mainly feed inside the seed capsules and shoots of Malvaceae
such as China Jute (Abutilon theophrasti), Marsh Mallow
(Althaea officinalis), the tree mallow Lavatera arborea
, Arrowleaf Sida (Sida rhombifolia), and various Gossypium
(cottons) and Malva
(typical mallows) species. The caterpillars have been found on other eurosids, including Crataegus
hawthorns (Rosaceae
), Cucurbita pepo
pumpkins (Cucurbitaceae
), and Eucalyptus
(Myrtaceae
). They may occasionally become pests of cotton.
are accepted today, rendering all those other names invalid. In addition, it was variously assigned to other tortrix moth genera – usually close relatives of Crocidosema such as Epinotia
(under its junior synonyms Paedisca, Proteopteryx and Steganoptycha) or Eucosma
, but sometimes more distantly related Olethreutinae
such as Grapholita
(under the spelling variant Grapholitha) and Hedya
(as Penthina, a mis-spelling of the junior synonym Pendina). In addition to being the type species
of Crocidosema, one of these redescriptions – at that time still unrecognized as what it was – was used as late as 1965 to establish the genus Parasuleima as supposedly distinct from Crocidosema.
The invalid scientific names of this moth are:
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Tortricidae), belonging to tribe
Tribe (biology)
In biology, a tribe is a taxonomic rank between family and genus. It is sometimes subdivided into subtribes.Some examples include the tribes: Canini, Acalypheae, Hominini, Bombini, and Antidesmeae.-See also:* Biological classification* Rank...
Eucosmini
Eucosmini
The Eucosmini are a tribe of tortrix moths.-Genera:The Eucosmini are a tribe of tortrix moths.-Genera:The Eucosmini are a tribe of tortrix...
of subfamily Olethreutinae
Olethreutinae
Olethreutinae is a subfamily of moth in the family Tortricidae.-Genera incertae sedis:This tortricine genus has not been assigned to a tribe yet:...
. It is found today all over the subtropical and tropical regions of the world and even occurs on many oceanic islands – in Polynesia
Polynesia
Polynesia is a subregion of Oceania, made up of over 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are termed Polynesians and they share many similar traits including language, culture and beliefs...
and on Saint Helena
Saint Helena
Saint Helena , named after St Helena of Constantinople, is an island of volcanic origin in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha which also includes Ascension Island and the islands of Tristan da Cunha...
for example –, but has probably been accidentially introduced to much of its current range by humans. In addition, it is also found in some cooler regions, e.g. in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
except in the east and north; this is probably also not natural, as it was for example not recorded in the British Isles
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
before 1900.
It is the type species
Type species
In biological nomenclature, a type species is both a concept and a practical system which is used in the classification and nomenclature of animals and plants. The value of a "type species" lies in the fact that it makes clear what is meant by a particular genus name. A type species is the species...
of its genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
Crocidosema, established by Philipp Christoph Zeller
Philipp Christoph Zeller
Philipp Christoph Zeller was a German entomologist.Zeller was born at Steinheim Württemberg, two miles from Marbach, the birthplace of Schiller. The family moved to Frankfurt where Philip went to the gymnasium where natural history was not taught. Instead, helped by Alois Metzner, he taught...
when he described the present species in 1847, as he found it unlike any moth then known to science.
Description and ecology
The wingspanWingspan
The wingspan of an airplane or a bird, is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777 has a wingspan of about ; and a Wandering Albatross caught in 1965 had a wingspan of , the official record for a living bird.The term wingspan, more technically extent, is...
of adults is 12-16 mm. In the seasonal parts of its range, this moth flies from midsummer to early autumn, e.g. from July to October in southern England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is not quite clear whether there are several broods per year in the tropics, as it has been recorded on the Marquesas Islands
Marquesas Islands
The Marquesas Islands enana and Te Fenua `Enata , both meaning "The Land of Men") are a group of volcanic islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in the southern Pacific Ocean. The Marquesas are located at 9° 00S, 139° 30W...
only between January and April for example. The adults are active in the evening and attracted to lights.
The caterpillar
Caterpillar
Caterpillars are the larval form of members of the order Lepidoptera . They are mostly herbivorous in food habit, although some species are insectivorous. Caterpillars are voracious feeders and many of them are considered to be pests in agriculture...
larvae
Larvae
In Roman mythology, lemures were shades or spirits of the restless or malignant dead, and are probably cognate with an extended sense of larvae as disturbing or frightening...
mainly feed inside the seed capsules and shoots of Malvaceae
Malvaceae
Malvaceae, or the mallow family, is a family of flowering plants containing over 200 genera with close to 2,300 species. Judd & al. Well known members of this family include okra, jute and cacao...
such as China Jute (Abutilon theophrasti), Marsh Mallow
Althaea officinalis
Althaea officinalis is a species indigenous to Africa, which is used as a medicinal plant and ornamental plant...
(Althaea officinalis), the tree mallow Lavatera arborea
Lavatera arborea
Lavatera arborea , the Tree Mallow, is a species of mallow native to the coasts of western Europe and the Mediterranean region, from the British Isles south to Algeria and Libya, and east to Greece.- Description :It is a shrubby annual, biennial or perennial plant growing to 0.5–2 m tall...
, Arrowleaf Sida (Sida rhombifolia), and various Gossypium
Gossypium
Gossypium is the cotton genus. It belongs to the tribe Gossypieae, in the mallow family, Malvaceae, native to the tropical and subtropical regions from both the Old and New World. The genus Gossypium comprises around 50 species , making it the largest in species number in the tribe Gosssypioieae....
(cottons) and Malva
Malva
Malva is a genus of about 25–30 species of herbaceous annual, biennial, and perennial plants in the family Malvaceae , one of several closely related genera in the family to bear the common English name mallow. The genus is widespread throughout the temperate, subtropical and tropical regions of...
(typical mallows) species. The caterpillars have been found on other eurosids, including Crataegus
Crataegus
Crataegus , commonly called hawthorn or thornapple, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the rose family, Rosaceae, native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere in Europe, Asia and North America. The name hawthorn was originally applied to the species native to northern Europe,...
hawthorns (Rosaceae
Rosaceae
Rosaceae are a medium-sized family of flowering plants, including about 2830 species in 95 genera. The name is derived from the type genus Rosa. Among the largest genera are Alchemilla , Sorbus , Crataegus , Cotoneaster , and Rubus...
), Cucurbita pepo
Cucurbita pepo
The species Cucurbita pepo is a cultivated plant of the genus Cucurbita. It includes varieties of squash, gourd, and pumpkin.*Acorn squash*Delicata squash*Dodi marrow, grown in South Asia*Gem squash*Heart of gold squash*Pattypan squash...
pumpkins (Cucurbitaceae
Cucurbitaceae
The plant family Cucurbitaceae consists of various squashes, melons, and gourds, including crops such as cucumber, pumpkins, luffas, and watermelons...
), and Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia...
(Myrtaceae
Myrtaceae
The Myrtaceae or Myrtle family are a family of dicotyledon plants, placed within the order Myrtales. Myrtle, clove, guava, feijoa, allspice, and eucalyptus belong here. All species are woody, with essential oils, and flower parts in multiples of four or five...
). They may occasionally become pests of cotton.
Synonyms
This species was described times and again under different names from all over its wide range. But not even subspeciesSubspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
are accepted today, rendering all those other names invalid. In addition, it was variously assigned to other tortrix moth genera – usually close relatives of Crocidosema such as Epinotia
Epinotia
Epinotia is a very large genus of tortrix moths . It belongs to the tribe Eucosmini of subfamily Olethreutinae.-Species:166 species of Epinotia were considered valid as of 2009...
(under its junior synonyms Paedisca, Proteopteryx and Steganoptycha) or Eucosma
Eucosma
Eucosma is a very large genus of moths belonging to the family Tortricidae. The genus has a Holarctic and Indomalayan distribution...
, but sometimes more distantly related Olethreutinae
Olethreutinae
Olethreutinae is a subfamily of moth in the family Tortricidae.-Genera incertae sedis:This tortricine genus has not been assigned to a tribe yet:...
such as Grapholita
Grapholita
Grapholita is a large genus of tortrix moths . It belongs to subfamily Olethreutinae, and therein to the tribe Grapholitini, of which it is the type genus.-Taxonomy and systematics:G.F...
(under the spelling variant Grapholitha) and Hedya
Hedya
Hedya is a genus of moths belonging to the subfamily Olethreutinae of the family Tortricidae.-Species:*Hedya abjecta Falkovitsh, 1962*Hedya anaplecta *Hedya atrifraga Diakonoff, 1968*Hedya auricristana...
(as Penthina, a mis-spelling of the junior synonym Pendina). In addition to being the type species
Type species
In biological nomenclature, a type species is both a concept and a practical system which is used in the classification and nomenclature of animals and plants. The value of a "type species" lies in the fact that it makes clear what is meant by a particular genus name. A type species is the species...
of Crocidosema, one of these redescriptions – at that time still unrecognized as what it was – was used as late as 1965 to establish the genus Parasuleima as supposedly distinct from Crocidosema.
The invalid scientific names of this moth are: